electric spoofaloo

sinkholes

I can’t stop staring at the sinkhole in Guatemala. The impressive crater swallowed a three story building as the foundation fell over 200 feet as the ground around it became eroded by Tropical Storm Agatha.

How alike we are to that building. Little by little, and often without us noticing, the ground beneath us wears away. We don’t need a hurricane, just one good, gusty storm, and we collapse and we fall. That building will most likely never see sea level again, but this is where we are different. We don’t have to stay defeated by grief, addiction, or whatever ails us.

I just finished watching the entire series of The Wire. I keep coming back to this quote:

“You don’t have to feel shame for holding on to grief, as long as you make room for other things, too.” Bubbles

adam and mary j blige

happy birthday elizabeth stamatina

Today is the fortieth birthday of a one, Elizabeth Stamatina “Tina” Fey, comedy goddess and writer extraodinaire. Thank you, Tina, for writing and playing a real woman with real problems and a real sense of humor. As your character said to her idol,

“You are my heroine. And by heroine I mean lady hero. I don’t want to inject you and listen to jazz.”

more demerits for arizona

First Arizona passes the most nasty immigration law this side of WWII. Now Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix has “automatically excommunicates” Sister Margaret McBride for advocating for a woman to have an abortion. The abortion took place in late 2009 and the woman, who was 11 weeks pregnant, was diagnosed with a condition which would have killed her if she carried the pregnancy to the full term.

Sheeeeeeeeit. God must have gone heavy with the jerks on the South West.

rhode island is for lovers

At least according to this month’s Advocate. The cover story, 150 Reasons to Have Pride in 2010 lists the 2006 Massachusetts s­uperior court justice ruling that same-sex couples from Rhode Island could go to MA to get married and Attorney General Patrick Lynch statement that RI would recognize those marriages as a reason.

We’re not really an island and this really isn’t marriage equality. We can’t change the former and we need to change the latter. Click here or click the Marriage Equality RI link on the side. Because while Rhode Island really is for lovers, it’s for husbands and wives, too.

rien de rien

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the day with my girls Mary and Kimmy. Maybe because we were at a Mother’s Day brunch even though we don’t have children, maybe because it was my birthday last week, or maybe because we’re so nearly at the end of our AmeriCorps year, something happened over spicy eggplant curry and iced coffee: we spoke honestly and fearlessly about ourselves and our lives, and not in a Sex-and-the-City-honey-I-love-you-but-that-outfit-doesn’t-work kind of way but in a I-don’t-know-what-I’m-doing-with-my-life way.

We agreed that this thing called life is some hard shit, and you can’t get someone else to do it for you. We talked about the lies we’ve been told over the course of our lives. If you study hard, get into a good college, and graduate you will get a job and life will be okay. No matter how successful you are and how much money you have you will always be happy. You have to do everything you’re ever going to do by the time you’re 30.

And it’s true. Hell, Tina Fey didn’t get her own show until she was 36, Helen Mirren didn’t win an Oscar until she was 60, Betty White is at the pinnacle of her career and she’s eighty-frickin-eight! There are no rules and there is no set plan. Just keep on keepin’ on, and the rest will follow.

Janey Cutler said she auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent at 80 years old because, “I love singing, and it’s never too late.” She’s right, and she blew my socks off.

iay de mi!

iFeliz Cinco de Mayo a todos! Today is NOT Mexican Independence Day (which is September 16th) but a celebration of Mexico’s victory over the French in the Battle of Puebla.

Mexico’s second best export (the first being Salma Hayek) is that glorious libation, tequila. While delicious, too much tequila can make you do some crazy stuff like…

…think you can be a staunch anti-gay leader then take a vacation with a rentboy.com escort

…spend $106.5 million on an original Picasso

…ask government to clean up your oil company’s spills

…take yoga with this jerk

…think about voting for David Cameron

Stay strong little ones, and remember, be safe and responsible, because unfortunately, you can do things you can’t take back.

bartender, another two(sday)

As the UK election nears, more of my favorite people are writing good things, so this the UK edition of Double-Shot Tuesday.

Stephen Fry’s wrote an, “election blog for you to ignore,” stating,

“Let this be known and celebrated: we all have the right to vote the way we want.”

Guardian columnist and hair goddess Cailtin Moran has written a great piece about Tories that Liberals secretly (or not so secretly) like.

On the Tory front, PinkNews.co.uk reports that douchebag David Cameron become douchier by not planning to legalize full gay marriage despite pledging to consider it.

On the double-shot front I leave you with tweet truths:

I saw the film version of Mamma Mia, sweet Cleansing Fire of Napalm where were you for that abomination? @RealBillBailey

Ladies and gentlemen… The fourth debate! http://yfrog.com/jug3ij @jupitusphillip

open

First openly gay American Bishop V. Gene Robinson has written an outstanding letter to Papa Ratzi:

The Christian church — like any institution — is as capable of sin as any individual. We have been wrong before, from the Inquisition and the Crusades down to our defense of slavery (using scripture) and our denigration of women. Over time, the church has repented for these sins and sought to change its ways. The discovery of sexual abuse by clergy is another situation that calls for the church’s repentance and reform.

I would not presume to instruct you. That would be arrogant. Nor would I impose upon you advice you’ve not sought. But I do offer you the benefit of my experience as you seek to deal responsibly with these challenges to the integrity of your church. Your letter to the faithful in Ireland and your meeting in Malta with victims were a good start. I hope the future will bring more truth-telling, which will make your church a better, safer place.

However, I believe it is misguided and wrong for gay men to be scapegoated in this scandal. As a gay man, I know the pain and the verbal and physical violence that can come from the thoroughly debunked myth connecting homosexuality and the abuse of children. In the media, representatives of and advocates for the Roman Catholic Church have laid blame for sexual abuse at the feet of gay priests. These people know, or should know, that every reputable scientific study shows that homosexuals are no more or less likely to be child abusers than heterosexuals. Psychologically healthy homosexual men are no more drawn to little boys than psychologically healthy heterosexual men are drawn to little girls.”